Gardaí have issued a warning over a new scam which is tricking people into purchasing hundreds of Euro worth of iTunes gift cards.

Investigators say the scam is mainly aimed at vulnerable older people – with one person being tricked out of over €2,000.

Victims of the scam receive a bogus telephone call telling them they are in debt to a company or organisation that they are a customer of.

They are warned that immediate payment is needed – and in some of these cases told that they facing criminal charges.

They are told that payment must be made through iTunes gift cards bought from a shop. Once the cards are purchased the victim is told to share the voucher details over the phone.

The scammers then use the vouchers to purchase goods online.

A number of people have already fallen victim to the fraud – with one person in Galway tricked into buying €2,200 worth of vouchers.

Two people in Wicklow and Tipperary were conned into buying over €1,000 worth of the vouchers.

One person in Dublin was attempting to purchase €1,000 worth of vouchers before a member of staff became suspicious and contacted Gardaí.

Gardaí are urging the public to be vigilant and suspicious of any calls or voicemails from people claiming to represent a company or organisation you may be a customer of.

Investigators have warned that the scammers may be in possession of certain personal details.

Gardaí have warned that no company will ever request payment via iTunes or any other online vouchers. Anyone who receives a similar call is urged to contact Gardaí.